ALEX SANDER

Kamis, 22 September 2011

English is an international language used as a means of
communication among nations. Burgmeir et al. (1991: 4) state that English has
become a global language, used in communication, technical and scientific
journals and technology. In other words, a lot of informational sources like
books, newspaper, magazines, Internet files, scientific journal and technology
are in English. Also, English is taught within several countries either for
second language or foreign language.

In Indonesia,
English is taught as a foreign language. The students of elementary, junior,
and senior high schools and even university have to study it as one of their
subjects. Saleh (1985: 1) points out that the term of English as a foreign
language means English is taught as a school subject or on a level solely for
foreign language competence which he or she may use to read literature,
technical works and scientific books, to understand the dialogue in films, and
to communicate orally or in writing with the people of other countries. In
addition, Finnocciaro (1985: 5) states that the aim of English teaching should
be used to develop the four basic skills—that is, listening, speaking, reading,
and writing to the best of the pupil’s ability and English should be presented
and practiced in the sequence of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. So
in the teaching English, the four skills of English, listening, speaking,
reading and writing, should be integrated.

Then, learning English is not so easy for Indonesian
students since English and Indonesian are different dealing with their
spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, semantic and syntax. For example, in terms
of vocabulary, Aditya (2007) implicitly drew conclusion that the students got
the difficulty for knowing the words for first time before consulting the
dictionary.

In order to overcome the above
problem, surely, there are many components that must be considered. One of them
is vocabulary mastery, which is one of the important parts of foreign language
learning. As Richard et al. (1985: 32) state that vocabulary is one of the
important aspects of the foreign language learning. People cannot communicate
well without having adequate vocabulary since the vocabulary is one of the
language components to express, grasp an idea and understand it. Wilkins (1972:
109) states that linguists have had remarkably little to say about vocabulary
and one can find very few studies which could be of any practical interest for
language teachers. Therefore, language teachers cannot neglect the teaching of
vocabulary as their priority since language learners need to master it in order
to speak, write, read and listen to the language. Besides, Pickett (1978) as
cited in Hegde (2000: 110) states that the subject of vocabulary learning
always seems to be the key to any language learning. In addition, he would
prefer to mispronounce words and make grammatical mistakes rather than not
learn vocabulary.

Henceforth, Martin (2001) states that there are seven
kinds of vocabulary or parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
conjunction, preposition, and interjection. Common linguists classify the kinds
of vocabulary into open word classes and closed word classes. Open word
classes, which constantly acquire new members, are noun, verb, adjective,
adverb, and interjection, meanwhile closed word classes acquire new members,
infrequently if at all, such as conjunction and preposition.

However, for the sake of this study, the writer
will only focus on nouns since the most important kind of vocabulary is the
nouns due to the fact there are a lot of them in English. Sheller (1978: 7)
states that nouns form one of the large classes of words in English. In
linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined
in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of
expressions. In the mastery of English vocabulary, the noun is significantly
helpful for language learners since the noun is easily obtained and visualized
by physical perceptions.

Sometimes it is difficult for the learners to learn
and identify the meaningof an
English word especially a noun since many words may have more than one meaning.
In this case, the learners are hoped to have their own strategies in mastering
vocabulary especially noun. In terms of this problem, Nation (1984: 98-104)
suggests that there be three strategies learners can use. They are: (1)
guessing meaning from context, (2) using a dictionary, and (3) paraphrasing.
This study only focuses on the second strategy –that is, using a dictionary,
which is using visual dictionary as a medium of teaching nouns. The visual
dictionary can be described as a type of dictionary which explains vocabulary
or words with pictures. In this case, the students will be treated with the use
of a dictionary in mastering vocabulary especially nouns related to a lesson
theme.

Based on the background above, the writer is
interested in finding out whether or not teaching nouns by using visual
dictionary is effective.

1.2The Problem of
the Study

The problem of this study is formulated as follows: “Is teaching nouns by using Visual Dictionary to seventh graders of
SMP Negeri 51 Palembang effective?”.

1.3The Objective
of the Study

The objective of this study is to find out whether teaching nouns by
using Visual Dictionary to seventh graders of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang is
effective or not.

1.4The
Significance of the Study

The writer hopes that this study will be useful for the teachers in
teaching effectively especially in enlarging their students’ vocabulary. Also,
the writer hopes that this research can be an inspiration for everyone who
wants to develop some strategies in mastery of English vocabulary.

1.5. Hypotheses of
the Study

The hypotheses of the study are as a follows:

(H0)There
is no significant difference in nouns achievement between the students who are
taught by using visual dictionary and those who are not.

(H1)There is a significant difference in
nouns achievement between the students who are taught by using visual
dictionary and those who are not.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents (1) the concept of nouns, (2)
teaching nouns, (3) the concept of visual dictionary, (4) teaching nouns by
using visual dictionary, and (5) other previous related studies.

2.1The Concept of Nouns

2.1.1The Description
of Nouns

Noun is one of the most important parts of speech. Its arrangement
with the verb helps to form the sentence core which is essential to every
complete sentence (Frank, 1972: 6). In linguistics,
a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category
which is defined in terms of how its members are combined with other
grammatical kinds of expressions.

According to Azar (1995: 127), the simple definition of noun is a
person, place or thing. In addition, Mueller (1989: 2) states that nouns name
people, places, actions, and ideas, including anything that can be touched,
smelled, heard, or seen.Here are some
examples:

a. person:
man, woman, teacher, John, Mary

b. place:
home, office, town, countryside, America

c. thing:
table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

Furthermore,
Sheller (1978: 7) states that nouns form one of the large classes of words in
English. This statement is also supported by Francis (1978: 169) in his
specification as follows:

Pie
Chart 1

English
Word Classes

2.1.2 The
Functions of Nouns

Frank (1986: 2) states that noun is often the
head of word of the grammatical structure in which it appears. Then, He
explains that the functions of the nounin the sentence are as a subject
of verb, an object of verb, an object of preposition, subject and object
complement, noun adjunct, appositive, and direct address. The structural
description can further be seen in Table 1.

Table 1

Structural
Description of Nouns

Functions

Sentences

Positions

Subject of Verb

Alex loves Novi.

Before the verb

Object of Verb

Alex loves Novi.

After the verb

Object of Preposition

That pen was onthe table.

After a preposition

Subject Complement

George W. Bush is the president of United States of America.

After to be

Object Complement

They elected George W. Bush a president.

After noun

Noun Adjunct

Patria waited for her boyfriend at the bus stop.

Before a noun

Appositive

David, head of the school, gave a speech.

After a noun

Direct Address

Jack, come here!

Usually at the beginning of the sentence

2.1.3The
Types of Nouns

According to Johanson (1998:
43), nouns can be classified in specific ways. Concrete nouns and abstract
nouns are two such ways. Concrete nouns names something can experience with one
of five senses—that is, concrete nouns name something can see (like the moon),
touch (like blanket), smell (like a rose), hear (like laughter), or taste (like
sugar). In meantime, Abstract nouns names feelings (such as jealousy and
attraction), ideas (such as peace and freedom), and qualities (such as generosity
and determination). Abstract nouns do not exist as physical objects in the
world; they cannot be seen, touched, smelled, heard or tasted by feelings,
ideas, and qualities. In this study, the concrete nouns will be used and the
abstract ones will not since it is mostly difficult to visualize the abstract
ones.

Then, Biber et al (1999: 232) state that nouns have
the following types; countable and countable nouns, proper nouns, collective
nouns, unit nouns, quantifying nouns, and species nouns. Those types of nouns
are described as follows:

1. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable
Nouns refer to entities which can be counted; they have both singular and
plural forms (e.g. a cow, two cows, etc). Meanwhile, Uncountable Nouns refer to
entities which cannot be counted and do not vary for number. In this study, the
uncountable nouns will not be used since it is hard to make the nouns into
pictures or imagery.

2. Proper Nouns

Proper
Nouns lack both contrast in number and definiteness (e.g. Sue, but not normally
a Sue, the Sue, or Sues). The overwhelming majority of proper nouns are both
definite and singular. Some important categories of proper nouns are the
following:

Collective
nouns refer to groups of single entities. They are associated with a particular
type of entity: people (e.g. crowd and gang), animals (e.g. flock, herd, shoal,
and swarm), plants (e.g. bouquet and clump), or inanimate objects or entities
(e.g. batch and set).

4. Unit
Nouns

Unit
nouns are in a way the opposite of collective nouns: rather than providing a
collective reference for separate entities. Both types of noun provide
alternative ways of viewing and referring, collective nouns with respect to
countables and unit nouns with respect to uncountables. Unit nouns are
characteristically general in meaning (bit, piece, slide, etc), and they are
followed by an of-phrase specifying the type of matter or phenomenon referred
to. Grammatically, they behave like ordinary countable nouns.

5.
Quantifying Nouns

Quantifying
nouns are used to refer to quantities of both masses and entities, which are
specified in following of-phrase by uncountable nouns and plural countable
(e.g. a cup of coffee, a dozen of plate, etc).

6. Species
Nouns

Species nouns are found in patterns which are
superficially like those of quantifying nouns. However, they are used to refer
not to the amount but to the type of entity or mass expressed by a following
of-phrase. They behave grammatically like ordinary countable nouns. Species
nouns usually follow words such as class, kind, make, sort, species, and type.
They combine with countable as well as uncountable nouns.

The types of nouns will be used as parts of lesson
materials in treatment of teaching nouns by using visual dictionary. The nouns
will be provided in a visual dictionary in order that the nouns will be clear
enough in the treatment. The writer focuses on the nouns as point of view of
leaning and teaching materials. In the treatment, the students are required to
master the nouns provided in order that they can use and understand the meaning
of the nouns.

2.1.4
The Characteristics of Nouns

Biber
et al (1999: 62) state that Nouns have the following characteristics;
morphological characteristic, syntactical characteristic, and semantic
characteristic. Then, those characteristics can be explained as follows:

1. Morphological Characteristic

Nouns are
inflected for number and case: one book, two books, and Sarah’s book. Many
nouns, however, are uncountable and do not inflect for number (e.g. gold,
information). Nouns often have a complex morphological structure. Examples of
compound and derived nouns: bombshell, bridgehead, clothesline; bomber,
brightness, friendship.

2. Syntactical Characteristics

Nouns occur
as the head of noun phrases, for example: the new book about
Wittgenstein, new information I found. The possibilities of modification
are severely restricted with some nouns, particularly proper nouns (e.g. Sarah).
Noun phrases have a wide range of syntactic roles: subject, direct object,
indirect object, prepositional object, complement of preposition, subject
predicative, object predicative, adverbial, pre-modifier noun, apposition,
pre-modifier in adjective and adverb phrase.

3. Semantic Characteristics

Nouns
commonly refer to concrete entities, such as people and things in the external
world (e.g. girl, book), but they may also denote qualities and states (e.g.
freedom, friendship). In clauses, nouns and noun phrases are typically
associated with semantic roles such as agent, affected, and recipient.

In this case,
the nouns have the characteristics in forming the new ones. So, the nouns can
be developed more and more.

2.2 The Teaching of
Nouns

In
mastering vocabulary, learners are hoped to master nouns as one kind of the
vocabulary in order that they apply and mention the nouns as well as use them
for speaking and writing in order to be able to comprehend reading and
listening. Teaching the nouns should be focused on developing the learners'
awareness of the nouns they are learning. Rubin (1993: 246) suggests that
teachers can help awaken and advance this awareness for the learners by helping
them acquire tools in addition to dictionary to expand their words.

In helping them achieve the awareness, the teachers
have to make the teaching of nouns successfully and effectively. Usually, the
learners use the dictionary as a source of information in translating words
either in one language (monolingual) or two languages (bilingual) since it is
one of the most important tools for language users due to their valuable
lexical information.

2.3 The Concept of
Visual Dictionary

According to Jain
(1999), the visual dictionary or victionary is a dictionary-like information-mapping
module that is used to retrieve visual information at a "semantic"
level. Its system that performs generic image processing is enhanced by adding
a query transformation unit and a query expansion unit, i.e., the victionary.
With these additional components, a user may present a query either as a text
term (such as a keyword or phrase), or as an image (with weights) and execute a
"semantic query". During semantic query processing, the
victionary-enhanced system transforms the user's original term (or image query)
to a set of equivalent queries, and internally executes all the equivalent
queries before presenting the results to the user. The victionary unit is
responsible for taking the term (or image query) and finding the equivalent
feature vectors (and weights).

2.4 Teaching Nouns by Using Visual
Dictionary

In order to transmit the meaning of the words especially
nouns, Johnson (2001: 22) maintains that this method works on the principles of
psychoacoustics and brain stimulation. The method is by projecting pictures
simultaneously. Each of the pictures is intended to link with grammatical
structure and vocabulary. Much is made of creating reality or realities for the
learners in this way. Moreover, it is supposed that the reality makes an
efficient use of the eye and the signals of language are memorized easily.
Therefore, the visual dictionary, provided with pictures or imageries, is
presented as the students’ medium in learning English words especially nouns.
The role of the visual dictionary is to make the students retain the new words
especially nouns longer since they get a clear picture or imagery in their
mind. The visual dictionary also make the teaching and learning vocabulary
especially nouns much more interesting in comparison with the ones without
using any media at all.

2.5.
Other Previous Related Studies

There are two previous related studies which are related to the writer’s
study. The first thesis entitled “The Study on the Second Year Students’
mastery of the English Plural Nouns at SMA YPBI 8 Palembang” was written by
Gutmir (2005). The objective of his study was to find out whether or not there
was significant difference in English plural nouns mastery between the students
who were taught and those who were not. The result of the study showed that
there was significant different in English plural nouns mastery for the
students who were taught as compared to those who were not.

Then, the second thesis entitled “Visual Aids as the Technique of
Teaching Vocabulary to SMA Negeri 1 Jambi” was written by Susanto (2003). The
objective of the study was to find out whether or not teaching vocabulary using
the visual aids was significant. The result of the study showed that there was
significant difference in vocabulary achievement for the students who were
taught by using visual aids as compared to those were not.

There is a similarity between the first thesis title and the writer’s
study—that is, the students’ nouns achievement, meanwhile, the difference
between them was the use of medium of teaching nouns. Then, there is a
similarity between the second title and the writer’s study—that is, the use of
visual media; however, the different between them was vocabulary achievement
and nouns mastery.

CHAPTER III

METHOD AND PROCEDURE

This chapter discusses (1) the method of the study, (2)
the procedure of the study, (3) the operational definition, (4) the variable of
the study, (5) the population and sample of the study, (6) the technique for
collecting the data, (7) validity and reliability, and (8) the technique for
analysing the data.

3.1Method of the Study

The method of the research was quasi-experimental method. Christensen
(1991: 305) says that a quasi-experimental study is an experimental design that
does not meet all the requirements necessary for controlling the influence of
extraneous variables. In addition, it was a type of experimental design where
random assignment to groups was not employed for either ethical or practical
reasons, but certain methods of control are employed and the independent
variable is manipulated. The writer had two considerations why this
quasi-experimental method was used in this study. First, using this method did
not disturb the process of teaching and learning activities because the
subjects of the study could be given the treatment in their regular schedule as
usual. Second, the subjects were ready to collaborate with the writer.

There were several types of quasi-experimental designs like
pretest-posttest matched subject design, basic time series design,
pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design, etc. However, in this
study the writer used one of them, that was, the pretest-posttest
non-equivalent control group design. This design was a nonrandomized research
in which the responses of a treatment group and a control group were compared
on a measure collected at the beginning and at the end of the research. In this
research, there were two groups; (1) experimental group and (2) control group.
Both of the sample groups were taken based on the result of the pretest.

In this
study, the writer gave treatment to the experimental group by teaching
vocabulary using a visual dictionary as their media. Meanwhile, the control
group were taught vocabulary especially nouns without using the visual
dictionary.

3.2The Procedure of the
Study

Since there are two
groups in the study—that is, experimental group and control one, there are two
different procedures in teaching nouns.

3.2.1 The Procedure of
Teaching Nouns in the Experimental Group

ØPre-Activities

(a) The teacher explains what they, the teacher
and the students, are going to do on that day.

(b) The teacher writes the theme that is going
to be discussed on the whiteboard and then asks several questions related to
it.

ØWhilst-Activities

(a) The teacher gives each of the students a
piece of blank paper.

(b) The teacher asks the students to write as
many nouns, which are to do with the theme as possible.

(c) The teacher orders some of the students to
write their words on the board.

(d) The teacher gives visual dictionary to all
of the students in the class. Then, he explains the students how to use the
visual dictionary. He tells that learning nouns through the dictionary is very
easy since there are pictures for each of the nouns. Besides, he also tells
them that by using the dictionary they do not only look up the meaning of the
words but also the pronunciation and spelling of the words.

(f) The teacher gives chance to the students for
looking up the dictionary for some minutes and then they close it.

(g) The teacher distributes another blank paper
to the students. He asks them to write as other nouns as possible on the paper.

(h) Again, he asks some of the students to write
the nouns that they have got on the board. After that, the teacher writes some
additional words on the board.

(j) The teacher pronounces the words and the
students listen to him carefully. After that, he pronounces them for the second
time, and the students repeat after him.

(k)The
teacher asks the students to make sentences using the nouns whichhave been written on the board.

(l)The
teacher asks the students do exercise.

ØPost
Activity

The teacher summarizes the
lesson.

3.2.2 The
Procedure of Teaching Nouns in the Control Group

ØPre-Activities

(a) The teacher explains what they, the teacher
and the students, are going to do on that day.

(b) The teacher writes the theme that is going
to be discussed on the whiteboard and then asks several questions related to
it.

ØWhilst
Activities

(a) The teacher gives each of the students a
piece of blank paper.

(b) The teacher asks the students to write as
many nouns which are to do with the theme as possible.

(c) The teacher orders some of the students to
write their words on the board.

(d) The teacher pronounces all the words on the
board two times. For the first turn, the students just listen to the teacher.
Meanwhile, for the second turn, he pronounces all the words, and they repeat
after him.

(e) The teacher asks the students do exercise.

ØPost
Activity

The
teacher summarizes the lesson.

3.3Operational Definitions

The title of
this thesis is “Teaching Nouns by Using Visual Dictionary to the Seventh
Graders of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang”. In order not to create misunderstanding,
the following terms are necessary to be defined: nouns, visual dictionary,
teaching nouns by using visual dictionary, and the seventh graders of SMP
Negeri 51 Palembang.

First, nouns are defined as meaning of commonly thought of as
"naming" words, and specifically as the names of "people,
places, or things". Nouns will be presented in visual dictionary.
It is certainly that nouns can be visualized into certain imagery.

Second,
visual dictionary here means a type of dictionary that is provided with a
picture or imagery. The dictionary provides the meaning of nouns with pictures
in order that the students can understand them.

Third,
teaching nouns by using the visual dictionary means that the nouns will be
taught by using the dictionary as the media in order that the dictionary is
hoped to be a more effective tool or medium in teaching and learning vocabulary
of English especially nouns.

Forth, the
seventh graders of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang refers to all the seventh grade
students of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang.

Finally, the
title “Teaching Nouns by Using Visual Dictionary to Seventh Graders of SMP
Negeri 51 Palembang” refers to the writer’s effort to teach nouns using visual
dictionary to the seventh graders of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang.

3.4 The Variables
of the Study

Wallen et al
(1991: 31) define a variable as any characteristic that is not always the same
–that is, any characteristic that varies. Wiersma (1991) states that a variable
is a characteristic that may take on different values. There are two kinds of
variables, independent and dependent variables that the independent variable
influences the dependent variable. In this study the independent variable is
using visual dictionary and the dependent variable is the effectiveness of
teaching nouns.

3.5Population and
Sample

3.5.1Population

Population is a group to which a researcher would like to generalize
the results of the study (Wallen, 1991: 129). In addition, Guy and Stanley
(1992: 104) state that population is the total number of elements that exist at
that time of the study and that show some characteristics of interest to the
researcher. The population of this study was all the students of Seventh Grade
of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang. The population is showed in Table 2.

Table 2

The Population of the Study

No

Class

Number of Students

1

VII A

40

2

VII B

40

3

VII C

40

4

VII D

39

5

VII E

39

6

VII F

38

7

VII G

40

8

VII H

40

Total

316

(Source:
SMP Negeri 51 Palembang, 2007/2008)

3.5.2Sample

According
to Wiersma (1990: 247) a sample is a subset of population to which the
researcher intends to generalize the result. In addition, Wallen (1991) states
that sample refers to any group on which information is obtained. In relation
to that term, the writer used purposive sampling method. The purposive random
sampling method is the method of selecting the sample depending on the
characteristics of the units (sites or individual) relevant to the research
(Dane, 1990:265).

In this study, in order to get the sample by using the
above method, the writer followed the following steps:

a. The writer took all the seventh
grade students of SMP Negeri 51 Palembang as the population of the study. In
this case, there were 316 students from eight classes.

b. From the eight classes, there
were only three classes, VII A, VII B, and VII C, which had vocabulary test.
The three classes were taught by the same teacher of English. They were the
candidates of the sample of the research.

c. Then, the writer administered
pretest. The pretest itself had two functions. First it served as a placement
test. The placement test was very crucial in this study in order to make sure
that the two classes which would be taken as the sample were similar or
homogeneous at the beginning of the study. In other words, the sample had the
same vocabulary achievement. From the test, it was found out that the mean
scores of the three classes were 58.31, 42.50, 45 (see Table 3). Therefore,
VII.B was eliminated, and VII.A and VII.C were taken as the sample of the
study.

Table 3

The Result of Placement Test

No

Class

Mean Score

1

VII.A

58.31

2

VII.B

42.50

3

VII.C

45

d. The second function was to help
the writer decide which class that would be the experimental group and which
class that would be the control one. Based on the result of the pretest, it was
found out that the mean score of VII.A was higher than that of VII.C. However,
in order to convince him that the decision that would be taken was precise, he
matched his finding with the mean scores of the latest vocabulary test held by
the English teacher. From that, it was discovered that the achievement of VII.A
was better than that of VII.C. From the two considerations, it was stated that
VII.A became the experimental group and VII.C became the control one. The
distribution of the sample is presented in Table 4 below:

Table 4

The Sample of the
Study

No

Class

Group

Number of Students

1

VII.A

Experimental Group

40

2

VII.C

Control Group

40

Total

80

3.6Technique for
Collecting the Data

A technique called testing
the sample and distributing a questionnaire was used In order to collect the
data. In other words, the instruments used were test and questionnaire.

3.6.1Test

A
test is a set of questions or other elements used to measure an individual or
group skill, knowledge, intelligence, ability, or aptitude (Arikunto, 1998:
139). In addition, test is confined to “an assigned set of tasks to be
performed”. It is the instrument used to obtain the skill measured (Rubin,
1997: 32).

In
collecting the data, a test was used. The test was administered twice as the
pretest and posttest. The pretest was used to find out the students’ nouns
achievement before the treatment, whereas posttest was used to find out
students’ nouns achievement after the treatment. The test consisted of forty
multiple choice questions. All the questions were devised in accordance with
the table of test specifications. In the table, the students were asked to
answer each of the questions based on the pictures.

3.6.2Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a set of questions that should be
covered by the respondents in order to obtain the information about identical
data, experience, attitude, knowledge, opinion, etc (Arikunto, 1993: 24). It
consists of a number of questions or items to read and answer. Questionnaire
can be valuable reference tools that measure the changing winds of opinions,
help forecast trends, and record a wide range of statistical data (Kollin,
1990: 354). In this study the writer distributed the questionnaire to the
experimental group in order to obtain additional information related to the
students’ attitude, opinion, and feeling after the treatment. Itwas given right after they had got the
treatment and done the post-test.

3.7Validity and Reliability

3.7.1Validity of the Test and the
Questionnaire

Validity refers to whether you are measuring what you
want to measure (Christensen, 1991: 101). Similarly, Best (1983: 197) says that
in general a test is valid if it measures what it claims to measure. Validity
is established by presenting evidence to support the specific inferences a
researcher makes on the basis of the data collected. In this study, the writer
focused on the content validity of the test. According to Wallen and Fraenkel
(1991: 8), content-related evidence refers to the nature of the content within
the instrument and the specifications the researcher used to formulate the
content. To make the test have a high degree of content validity, the writer
devised the test items in accordance with the table of test specifications. In
the table, he stated that the students were able to choose the correct answer
of the multiple-choice questions in order to know how far the students have the
mastery of nouns. The questions themselves were in the form of the types of
nouns—that is, countable and uncountable nouns, proper nouns, collective nouns,
unit nouns, quantifying nouns, and species nouns.

Meanwhile, to get the validity of the questionnaire, he
asked his two advisors to have a look at the content and the format of the
questionnaire and decide whether they were appropriate. In this case, the
writer wrote out a definition of what he wanted to measure and then gave the
description along with the instrument and a description of the intended
“subjects” to his advisors.Next, the
advisors looked at the definition, read over the items or questions in the
instrument, and then placed a checkmark in front of each question or item which
they felt did not measure one or more of the objectives. They also noted any
aspects of the definition that were not assessed by any of the items. After that,
the researcher rewrote any item or question so checked and resubmitted it to
the advisors; the researcher might also write new items for aspects that were
not adequately covered. The process continued until the advisors approved all
of the items or questions in the instrument and indicated that they felt the
total number of items was an adequate representation of the domain of content
covered by the variable being measured and that the format was appropriate.

3.7.2Reliability of the Test

Reliability refers to the consistency of the information
obtained (Fraenkel and Wallen, 1991: 85). In this study, the writer estimated
one of reliability methods, namely test-retest
reliability. By using this method, the reliability was obtained by
administering the test to non-sample students twice and computing the
correlation coefficient between the two administrations of the test. To find
out the correlation coefficient, the writer used Pearson Product Moment
Correlation coefficient. The formula is (Hatch and Lazaraton, 1991: 613):

where:

=
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient

= each
student’s score on Test Y

= mean
on Test Y

=
standard deviation on Test Y

= each
student’s score on Test X

= mean
on Test X

=
standard deviation on Test X

= the
number of students who took the two tests

The calculation was done by using SPSS (Statistical
Package for Social Science). According to Wallen and Fraenkel (1991: 99), for
research purposes, a rule of thumb is that reliability should be at least 0.70
and preferably higher. Because the reliability coefficient was 0.743 (see
Appendix C), the test was considered reliable.

3.8Technique for
Analysing the Data

In this study
the data from the test are analysed by using paired sample t-test in order to
compare whether there is a significant difference of the mean between the
experimental group and the control group. The formula of t-test is as follows
(Christensen, 1991):

Where t= the value by
which the statistical significance of the mean difference

will be judged

X1= the mean of group 1

X2= the mean of group 2

S12= the variance of group 1

S22= the variance of group 2

n1= the number of subjects in group 1

n2= the number of subjects in group 2

Besides that, the data from the
questionnaire were analysed by using the percentage formula as follow (Ali,
1987: 184):

P =

where:

P =
percentage of the students’ choice

= The total of the
students’ choice

= The total number of
the students

Besides, the result of the questionnaire, interview and observation
serves as additional information of qualitative data in order to find out
whether or not teaching nouns by using visual dictionary is effective.

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION

This chapter presents (1) the findings and (2) the
interpretation of the study.

4.1The Findings of the Study

The findings of the study were: (1) the results of the
pre-test and post-test in the experimental group, (2) the results of pre-test
and post-test in the control group, and (3) the result of the questionnaire.

The pre-test and post-test were given to the samples
both in the experimental and control groups. The pre-test was administered
before giving the treatment to the samples, and the post-test was done at the
end of the experiment. The results of the tests are referred to the score
interval used by FKIP UNSRI as follows.

Table 5

The Score Interval

Score Interval

Category

86 -100

Very Good

71 – 85

Good

56 – 70

Fair

41 – 55

Poor

0 - 40

Very Poor

Source: Buku Pedoman FKIP
UNSRI (2002: 19)(Translated)

4.1.1 The Results of the Pre-test and Post-test in the
Experimental Group

The number of the students in the experimental group was
40. The lowest score in the pre-test was 32, the highest score was 72, and the
mean score was 58.31. In the post-test, the lowest score was 27.50, the highest
score was 87 and the mean score was 74.18. The complete results of the tests
can be seen in appendices L and N. The following are the findings of the experimental
group.

The following table summarizes that in the pre-test
there was no student (0 %) in a very good category, four students (10 %) were
in good category, twenty one students (52.5 %) in a fair category, thirteen
students (32.5 %) in a poor category, and two students (5 %) in a very poor
category. Meanwhile, in the post-test, five students (12.5 %) in a very good
category, twenty students (50 %) were in a good category, thirteen students
(32.5 %) were in a fair category, two students (5 %) were in a poor category,
and there was no student (0 %) in a very poor category.

Table 6

The Score Distribution in
the Experimental Group

Score

Interval

Category

Pre-test

Post-test

Frequency

Percentage

Frequency

Percentage

86-100

Very Good

0

0 %

5

12.5 %

71-85

Good

4

10 %

20

50 %

56-70

Fair

21

52.5 %

13

32.5 %

41-55

Poor

13

32.5 %

2

5 %

0 - 40

Very Poor

2

5 %

0

0 %

Total

40

100 %

40

100 %

4.1.2The Results of the Pre-test and Post-test in the Control
Group

The number of the students in the control group was 40.
The lowest score in the pre-test was 25, the highest score was 75, and the mean
score was 45. In the post-test, the lowest score was 25, the highest score was
70 and the mean score was 49.69.The
complete results of the tests can be seen in appendices M and O. The following
are the findings of the control group.

The following table summarizes that there was no student
(0 %) in a very good category, one student (2.5 %) was in a good category, four
students (10 %) were in a fair category, twenty-one students (52.5 %) were in a
poor category, and fourteen students (35 %) were in a very poor category. In
meantime, in the post-test, there was no student (0 %) in a very good category
and a good category, twelve students (30 %) were in a fair category, eighteen
students (45 %) were in a poor category, and ten students (25 %) were in a very
poor category.

Table 7

The Score Distribution in
the Control Group

Score

Interval

Category

Pre-test

Post-test

Frequency

Percentage

Frequency

Percentage

86-100

Very Good

0

0 %

0

0 %

71-85

Good

1

2.5 %

0

0 %

56-70

Fair

4

10 %

12

30 %

41-55

Poor

21

52.5 %

18

45 %

0 - 40

Very Poor

14

35 %

10

25 %

Total

40

100 %

40

100 %

4.1.3The Result of
the Questionnaire

After the treatment, a questionnaire was given to the
experimental group in order to know their opinions, experiences, and feelings
in using the visual dictionary in learning and teaching English vocabulary
especially nouns. It was stated that the questionnaire was very significant for
qualitative data in this research in order to know their opinions, experiences,
and feelings toward the dictionary. The following are the findings of the
questionnaire and the students’ response.

Item 1: Do you like
learning English?

The first question asked about whether or not they liked
English and their reasons. It was found out that there were thirty-eight
students (95 %) who liked English and there were two students (5 %) who did not
like English. The reasons of the thirty students who liked English were that
twenty students (50 %) said that it is helpful to master knowledge, science,
and technology, twelve students (30 %) said that it is an international
language and mastering it will be useful for international communication, and
six students (15 %) said that it makes us richer in economy. Meanwhile, the
reasons of the two students who did not like English were that one student (2,5
%) mentioned that it is difficult to understand since its pronunciation of the
words is different from spelling of them, and one student (2,5 %) mentioned
that it is difficult for translating English into Indonesian.

Item 2: Have you ever
studied English vocabulary especially nouns by using a visual dictionary?

The second question asked
whether the students had ever studied English vocabulary especially nouns by
using a visual dictionary. There were thirty-three (82.5 %) who responded yes,
and seven students (17.5 %) who responded no.

Item 3: What do you think
after learning English vocabulary especially nouns by using the visual
dictionary?

The third question asked what the students thought after
learning English vocabulary especially nouns by using the visual dictionary.
There were fifteen students (37.5 %) who answered very exciting since they said
that it was easy to master vocabulary especially nouns through the pictures
with their colours and forms, and it was not bored to browse the words.

Then, there were twenty students (50 %) who answered
that it was exciting. They answered so because of the following reasons. First,
there are pictures, words, spelling, and meaning in this dictionary. The
pictures of the dictionary are very clear with colours and forms in order
easily to identify meaning of the words. Second, the pictures made us difficult
to forget the words.

Finally, there were five students (12.5 %) who answered
just so so because they thought that this dictionary is seldom used by the
students in learning and teaching process, and there are a limitation number of
the words in this dictionary. Meanwhile, there was not anyone answered that it
was not interesting or not very interesting.

Item 4: Can you understand
the meaning of the words easily by using the visual dictionary?

The forth question asked whether the students could
understand the meaning of the words easily by using the visual dictionary. All
of the students (100 %) answered yes. Twenty students (50 %) thought that this
dictionary provided the pictures in order not to make them confused in learning
the words especially nouns, fifteen (37.5 %) thought that it was easier to
master the words especially nouns through the pictures, and five students (12.5
%) thought that it made them encouraged to master the words especially nouns
since the dictionary had the pictures, their colours, and pronunciation.

Item 5: Do you like using
the visual dictionary?

The fifth question asked whether or not the students
liked the visual dictionary. All of the students (100 %) liked using the visual
dictionary. Among the students, twenty five students (62.5 %) thought that they
liked using the dictionary since the dictionary provides thematic object with
pictures and colours, in mean time, fifteen students (37.5 %) thought that they
liked using the dictionary since it was not bored to learn to learn the
dictionary and made them easier and faster master the words especially nouns
through the pictures.

Item 6: What is the
teacher’s role in teaching by the visual dictionary?

The sixth question asked what the teacher’s role was in
teaching by the visual dictionary. Four students (10 %) chose the option a
(translating the words), twenty-nine students (72.5 %) chose the option b
(directing the students to find meaning of the words from the dictionary), and
seven students (17.5 %) chose the option c (others). For the option c, three students
(7.5 %) mentioned the teacher’s role in the teaching was teaching them to find
the meaning of the nouns and explaining the form of the noun, two students (5
%) mentioned the teacher’s role in the teaching was to examine vocabulary
mastery of them, and two students (5 %) mentioned the teacher’s role in the
teaching was directing them to use the English words especially nouns sith
their sentence contexts.

Item 7: In which way do you
like learning English vocabulary?

The seventh question asked in which way the students
liked learning English vocabulary. Seven students (17.5 %) chose the option a
(memorizing), twenty-four students (60 %) chose the option b (consulting the
dictionary), and nine students (22.5 %) chose the option c (others). For the
option c, four students (10 %) mentioned the way they liked learning English
vocabulary was memorizing while playing, three students (7.5 %) mentioned the
way they liked learning English vocabulary was to consult the dictionary and
the teacher, one student (2.5 %) mentioned the way they liked learning English
vocabulary was to use the contextual vocabulary related to the learning theme,
one student (2.5 %) mentioned the way they liked learning English vocabulary
was to understand the meaning of the words through the pictures.

4.1.4Statistical Analysis on the Experimental Group

To find out whether or not there was a significant
difference in achievement before and after the treatment in the experimental
group, the writer compared the result of the pre-test with the result of the
post-test in the experimental group by using paired-sample t-test. Based on the
calculation in Appendix N by using the SPSS computer program, the value of
t-obtained was 12.108. At the significance level p<0.05 in two-tailed testing with df = 39, the critical value of
t-table is 2.0227. Because the value of t-obtained was higher than the critical
value of t-table, the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and the
research hypothesis (H1) was accepted. It means that teaching nouns
by using visual dictionary was significant.

4.1.5Statistical Analysis on the Control Group

To find out whether or not there was a significant
difference in achievement before and after the treatment in the control group,
the writer compared the result of the pre-test with the result of the post-test
in the control group by using paired-sample t-test. Based on the calculation in
Appendix O by using the SPSS computer program, the value of t-obtained was
3.012. At the significance level p<0.05
in two-tailed testing with df = 39, the critical value of t-table is 2.0227.
Because the value of t-obtained was higher than the critical value of t-table,
the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and the research hypothesis (H1)
was accepted. It means that teaching nouns by using visual dictionary was
significant.

4.1.6Difference Statistical Analysis on the
Experimental and Control Groups

To find out whether or not there was a significant
difference in the achievement between the experimental and control group, the
writer compared the results of the post-test in both groups by using
independent sample t-test. Based on the calculation in Appendix P by using the
SPSS computer program, the value of t-obtained was 9.977. At the significance
level p<0.05 in two-tailed testing
with df = 78, the critical value of t-table was 1.9908. Since the value of
t-obtained was higher than the critical value of t-table, the null hypothesis
(H0) was rejected and the research hypothesis (H1) was
accepted. It means that teaching nouns by using visual dictionary was
significant.

4.2The Interpretation of the Study

In the early study, both experimental group and control
group had the same starting point in the placement test since the two groups
made no significant difference in the placement test. In this case, the
placement test itself also had the function as the pre-test. However, during
the research, the experimental group got treatment—that is, using visual
dictionary to teach nouns. Meanwhile, the control group were taught nouns
without using the dictionary. As a result, using independent samples t-test,
the writer analyzed the difference between the result of the post-test in the
experimental group and that of the control group. Based on the calculation in
Appendix Pby using the SPSS
computer program, the value of t-obtained was 9.9770. At the significance level
p<0.05 in two-tailed testing with
df = 78, the critical value of t-table was 1.9908. Since the value of
t-obtained was higher than the critical value of t-table, the null hypothesis
(H0) was rejected and the research hypothesis (H1) was
accepted. It means that teaching nouns by using visual dictionary was
significant.

The result of the study supported the statement made by
Merriam (2007) who states that the
visual dictionary is an indispensable visual reference that goes beyond
object identification to answer questions about function, significance and
purpose. Ideal for teachers, parents, writers, translators and students of all
skill levels, it helps the user understand a phenomenon and quickly grasp the
meaning of a term, the characteristics of an object or simply learn something
new. In addition, visual aids are helpful for both teachers and students in
achieving the objectives of instruction more effectively. (Setiawati, 2002)

Then, the result of the questionnaire showed that most
of the students in the experimental group (60 %) preferred consulting the
dictionary in learning English vocabulary to memorizing (17.5 %) or others
(22.5 %). Moreover, according to students’ response to the questionnaire, all
of them (100 %) understood the meaning of the words easily by using the visual
dictionary since the dictionary provided pictures with full colour and words
with spelling and pronunciation. Therefore, it could be interpreted that
teaching nouns by using the visual dictionary was very helpful and significant
to increase the students’ vocabulary.

However, not all of English words can be visualized into
the dictionary. From the questionnaire, it could also be interpreted that some
of the students said that there was a limitation of the words in the
dictionary. Because of that problem, the other media will be needed in order to
understand the other words, which could be visualized into the dictionary.

CHAPTER
V

CONCLUSIONS
AND SUGGESTIONS

The conclusions given in this
chapter are those which are based on the descriptions in the previous chapters.
Besides the conclusions, the writer also offers some suggestions.

5.1Conclusions

Based on
the results of the study, the writer concludes that teaching nouns using the
visual dictionary is effective to increase students vocabulary achievement,
especially nouns. It could be proven by analyzing the students’ pretest and
posttest scores of the experimental group using paired sample t test and analyzing the students’
posttest scores of the experimental group and control group using independent
sample t test. Based on the
calculation by using the SPSS computer program, in the paired sample t test of
experimental group, the value of t-obtained was 12.108. At the significance
level p<0.05 in two-tailed testing
with df = 39, the critical value of t-table is 2.0227. Meanwhile, in the
independent t test, the value of
t-obtained was 9.977. At the significance level p<0.05 in two-tailed testing with df = 78, the critical value of
t-table was 1.9908. Both in paired sample t
test and independent t test, was
higher than t table. It means that
there was a significant increase in the achievement of the students who were
taught nouns by using the visual dictionary as compared to that of those who
were not.

In addition, the result of the
questionnaire in the forth question showed that the teaching nouns by using the
visual dictionary had a significant role in understanding the meaning of the
words easily. All of the students (100 %) said ‘yes’ for the question in the
questionnaire. Twenty students (50 %) stated that this dictionary provided the
pictures which could help them learn noun easily. Here, they admiited that they
learning the words especially nouns through visual dictionary was a great help
for them. Then, fifteen (37.5 %) remarked that it was easier for them to master
the words especially nouns through the pictures, and five students (12.5 %)
thought that it made them more curious to learn the words, especially nouns
since the dictionary had the pictures, colours, pronunciation and spelling.

From the questionnaire, it
could then be implied that the visual dictionary should be used as a medium in
the teaching and learning process since the dictionary could help the students
increase their noun achievement.

5.2 Suggestions

Having described the conclusion
above, some suggestions are offered to the teacher, students, and other
researchers.

1.Teachers

-There are many media in teaching and learning
vocabulary especially nouns. However, the writer suggests that the visual
dictionary be one of appropriate media to make the students feel more motivated
to master English vocabulary, especially nouns.

-
Unfortunately, sometimes the pictures of dictionary are not clear enough, In
order to deal with this problem, the writer suggests that the teachers or users
of the medium use additional instruments such as bigger pictures. Besides, the
pictures can also be shown to the students through the help ofOverhead Projector (OHP) or Liquid Central
Display (LCD).

2.Students

- Since the
mastery of vocabulary especially nouns is very important in English, students
can use this visual dictionary in order to help them to memorize the
vocabulary.

-As a reinforcement, students can use the
bigger pictures or real object in order to understand the vocabulary especially
nouns.

3. Other Researchers

- Since
this research still has some limitations, it is expected that other researchers
do a more extensive research in order to have better inferences.

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